The Way It Should Be
by kellicb
Summary: The title says it all....a few details of the show might be altered a little.
1. Chapter 1

**The Way It Should Be**

**Part 1**

**Rated PG**

_**6 weeks from now**_

_Jason straightens his tie as he looks in the mirror. Spinelli dramatically opens the door to the small room and stops when he sees "Stone Cold" in a suit. He's seen him in a suit before, just never for an occasion such as this._

"_Uh…Stone Cold? They're ready," Spinelli says with a smile on his face._

_Jason takes a deep breath and nods. "Okay. Let's do this," he says, patting Spinelli on the back as he walks past him._

_Jason takes his place at the front of the church and gives a small smile to Carly and Bobbie who are sitting in the front pew._

"_He looks nervous," Carly whispers to her mom. "Maybe he shouldn't go through with this."_

"_I think he looks very handsome," Bobbie says, patting Carly's knee._

_Father Coates walks to the middle of the altar and gives a smile and quick nod to Jason._

"_You ready?" he asks._

_Jason takes another deep breath and nods. "Yes…I've been ready for this for a long time."_

_He smiles when the music starts._

~*~

**Present Day**

"Lucky, I'm fine, really, you don't have to keep hovering over me," Elizabeth says as Lucky props another pillow behind her back.

"I just want to make sure you're comfortable," he says, sitting down on the couch next to her.

"I'm comfortable," she chuckles.

He smiles at her.

"You want something to eat?" he asks, point over his shoulder to the kitchen.

"No, we just ate. Seriously…I'm fine. You can go, you don't need to hover over me, I can take care of myself," she says, smiling at him.

"I don't have any plans and I'm off work today. What if Jake wakes up from his nap and needs something?"

"Uh, I'll get it for him?" she asks, confused about his question.

"What if it's too much exertion for you? The Doctor said that it would still be hard for you to breathe normally for awhile."

"Lucky, I'm fine. Really. I have the breathing treatments and time off from work…" Her voice fades when she says this, realizing there isn't really a building left for her to work in.

"Hey," he says, rubbing her leg through the blanket he placed over them a few minutes ago. "GH will be back soon and better than ever. I talked to Nikolas and he said that Edward is getting all the finances together," he says, reassuringly.

"I know, it's just sad…"

He nods.

"You want a book to read?"

She groans and throws her head back. "What I really want right now is for you to stop hovering…even though I do appreciate it," she adds quickly.

He tries to cover his hurt. "Okay. But if you need anything…and I mean anything, just call me, okay?"

He stands up and grabs his jacket off of the chair.

"I will."

He walks to the door. "Tell the boys I love them."

"Okay," she smiles. "Lucky?" she says, stopping him before he walks out the door. "Thank you…for just being there for me."

He smiles. "I wouldn't be anywhere else."

She watches as he walks out the door and closes it behind him. She sighs and rests her head back on the pillows and wonders what Jason is doing.

During the crisis at the hospital, she had no idea Jason was even stuck in the building with them. She overheard someone mentioning it when she was recovering at Mercy. She tired not to let it hurt her that he never came to see her and kept telling herself that he was staying away from her for her own good. It was better this way.

She nodded her head to confirm their decision to stay apart. Her hand moves to her heart and she rubs that spot, like rubbing it will make her heartache go away or feel better.

The doorbell rang and she groaned.

"Lucky…really, I'm fine," she says, pushing herself up from the couch to answer the door.

"Robin…hi," she says, surprised by her visitor.

"Hey. I didn't want to bother you, if you're resting, but Patrick and I wanted to make sure you had some food," she says, holding out a casserole dish.

Elizabeth motions for her to come in. "That was very sweet of you. I already ate, but I'll put this in the fridge for later," she says, taking the dish from her friend.

When Elizabeth returns from the kitchen she motions for Robin to sit down. She shrugs off her coat and sits down on the couch, picking up one of the magazines from the coffee table.

"Car Digest?" Robin chuckles before setting it back down.

Elizabeth rolls her eyes. "It's Lucky's. He wanted to make sure I had something to read and that's all he had with him."

Robin smiles and nods. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, now that I'm home. How is Emma?"

Robin's face lights up. "Emma is good. She's getting chubbier and cuter by the day."

Elizabeth sticks her lower lip out. "Awww I bet."

"We haven't had a chance to talk in awhile," Robin suddenly realizes. "I mean with the almost wedding and Emma being born and then…." She pauses when she was going to mention Jake's kidnapping. "And then my real wedding and the honeymoon…"

Elizabeth nods. "Yeah, we've both been busy," she says, biting her lower lip.

"Everything happened so fast and then you went out of town, I didn't get to tell you how glad I was that Jake was okay."

Elizabeth feels the tears stinging her eyes and she nods.

"Thanks."

"You and Lucky must have been beside yourselves."

"Yeah, we were. I think deep down I knew Jason would find him and bring him home…."

"Like he did the first time?"

Elizabeth nods. "Yeah," she says softly.

"Do you….have you talked to him lately?" she asks, curious about the current state of her friends' relationship.

Elizabeth sighs and shakes her head. "No. Not since after what happened to Jake."

Robin gives her a confused look.

"The Russians took Jake to get at Jason. They knew he'd go after his girlfriend's son."

"Girlfriend?" Robin asks.

"Jason and I had finally decided to try to make it work….again. I mean, we hadn't made any living arrangements or anything but we decided to take the steps to be a family…"

"And then this happened."

"Right."

"Elizabeth….I'm so sorry. You know I was rooting for the two of you."

Elizabeth hides her sad eyes behind her smile. "I know. This is for the best."

"Is it, really?"

"For the safety of my boys….yes, it is," she says, looking up with sad eyes.

"But what about you, Elizabeth? How can your sons be happy when you're not?"

"I'll be fine," Elizabeth says, picking invisible lint off of her jeans. "I have them to keep me busy…and work."

Robin raises her eyebrows. "Which won't be around for a couple of months."

"I have good friends," she gestures to Robin. "You, Patrick, Nikolas and Lucky…."

"You know, I admire you," Robin says, sitting back on the couch.

"Why is that?" Elizabeth asks, giving her a strange look.

"Because, even after all you and Lucky have been through, you can still remain friends."

"Well, we do it for the boys. I don't know how close we'd be if he wasn't helping me raise them."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Way It Should Be**

**Part 2**

_Elizabeth adjusts the headpiece in her hair._

"_It's perfect," Robin says, smiling from behind her._

_Elizabeth smiles and turns around to face her friend. _

"_Can you believe this is happening?" Elizabeth asks._

_Robin shakes her head with a smile. "Actually, I can," she chuckles. "And to think, a few weeks ago…"_

"_I know."_

"_But look at you now," Robin sighs. "You look gorgeous, by the way."_

"_Well, thank you. You do too. Thank you for being my matron of honor."_

_The two embrace._

"_Two of my favorite people, finally getting married? I wouldn't miss this for the world."_

_There was a knock on the door to the dressing room.._

"_Come in," Robin says, walking toward the door._

_Bobbie opens the door, holding the hands of Cameron and Jake._

"_Hi babies," Elizabeth says, motioning for them to come over._

_They both do and Elizabeth leans down to give them both a hug and kiss on the cheek._

"_You ready to walk Mommy down the aisle?"_

"_Yes, Mommy," Cameron says._

_Jake babbles something that probably means yes._

"_I'll go take my seat, then," Bobbie says, smiling at Elizabeth._

"_Thanks, Bobbie," she says before Bobbie leaves the room._

_The music starts and Robin and Elizabeth look at each other. Elizabeth's heart skips a beat._

"_Well, you ready?"_

_Elizabeth nods. "More than ever."_

"_Okay. I'll see you up by your husband-to-be," she squeezes her hand for reassurance._

_Robin leaves the room and Elizabeth looks down at her sons._

"_Okay guys…let's go marry Jason."_

~*~

Elizabeth watches as Lucky hammers away at something on her front door.

"What exactly are you doing?" she asks, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'm putting a new dead bolt on. That other one was loose."

"Ah," she says, nodding once.

She goes over to her couch, picking up some of the toys Cameron and Jake left behind.

"You know…you've been over here every day since I've gotten home from the hospital," she states in between his hammering.

"Yeah?" he asks, trying to act like he hadn't noticed. "Does that bother you?"

He puts the hammer down on a table and walks over to her.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" she asks, putting her hands on her hips.

He looks down and shakes his head. "No, we decided it wasn't working. I mean, I care about her and everything but this hospital crisis has put a lot into perspective."

Her eyes got a little big when he said they broke up. "Oh. I hadn't realized, I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. It was a mutual decision. We just want different things out of life. She's an excitement junky and I'm a family type of guy," he says, glancing up the stairs.

She bites her lower lip, letting it slowly release from her teeth.

"Okay…well, I need to go get the boys from Grams and then we're going to Kelly's for dinner."

"You want company?" he asks, almost jumping in front of her so she couldn't go anywhere.

"I thought you were on duty this evening?"

"I could see if Ruiz would cover for me…"

"Lucky. You can't do that. It's not like a family emergency. Save those kinds of favors for when you really need them," she says, putting the toys she had gathered into a toy chest. "I appreciate the new lock, though."

He takes the hint and walks toward the front door. "You're welcome. I just want you and the boys to be safe."

"I know," she smiles at him.

"Okay….well, you know to call me if you need anything?"

"I will," she promises.

"Okay….bye," he says, staring at her while they stand at the front door.

"Bye."

She backs away a little because it feels almost like he wants to hug her or something.

"I'll go then," he says, opening the door.

"Be careful on your shift tonight," she says, watching him walk to his car.

"I will," he waves to her from the car.

She shuts the door and decides to take a quick walk before heading to her Grams'.

~*~

It was a fairly warmer day for winter, so she didn't mind taking a stroll on the docks before heading to her Grandmother's to pick her sons up. It seemed like she hadn't been on the docks in a long time.

Her mind wandered to Jason and the many times they found each other here. It was always a good place to think.

She turned quickly when she heard the boards creak behind her.

Jason was bounding down the stairs, not paying attention to the end of the pier.

"Hi," Elizabeth says, getting his attention.

He slows way down when he reaches the last step. "Oh…hi. I didn't see you."

She nods, turning so she can get a better look at him.

God, he still looks so good.

"So…how – how are you?" he asks, putting his hands in his pockets and walking slowly toward her.

"I'm fine," she nods.

"I mean, with the poison and everything? You're doing better?"

"Oh, yeah….I'm doing some breathing treatments but I'm definitely getting better."

She yanks on her gloves, nervously.

"How are you doing?" she asks.

"I'm okay," he says, softly.

"That's good. I heard you were quite the hero getting people out of the burning hospital…"

He shakes his head. "I did what I could do," he shrugs. "Spinelli was trapped. I couldn't leave him…."

"Right…."

She starts to look away but his voice brings her focus back to him.

"I uh…I tried to see you, when you were at General Hospital," he says, taking a step toward her.

"You did?" she asks. He probably doesn't realize that one little statement made her day.

"Yeah. The first time, Epiphany told me you were in critical condition and that it wasn't good for you to have visitors because you needed to rest."

She nods.

"And the second…." he pauses, remembering seeing Lucky next to her side.

"What?" she swallows.

"Uh, Lucky was in your room. I didn't want to interrupt, it sounded like you two were talking about the past or something…" he says so softly, she almost didn't hear him.

"Oh," she whispers. "Yeah, Lucky wanted to make sure I was okay. That's all."

"Elizabeth, you don't have to explain."

Her eyes almost shut when he said her name. She loved the way he said her name.

"I'm not…I mean. He was just worried so he ended up being around me a lot."

He nods and looks out across the water. "I'm glad he could be there for you."

"I wish it could have been you, though."

He looks down, shaking his head before looking back up at her. "Elizabeth…."

"No, don't. I know why it couldn't be, you don't have to explain, I was just saying…"

He nods and looks away, trying to hide the pained expression on his face. He doesn't want to hurt her and that's all he seems to end up doing.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Way It Should Be**

**Part 3**

_Jason smiles at Robin as she walks down the aisle. She winks at him and takes her place._

_Jason's main focus, though, is on the back of the church, because he knows in a few seconds, his life will be walking through that door._

_Elizabeth._

_Cameron._

_And their son, Jake._

_The doors to the back of the church open and Jason literally has to catch his breath when he sees Elizabeth standing there, holding each son's hand._

_Her smile is so big as they starts to walk toward him._

_When they reach the first pew, Elizabeth motions for them to sit next to their Aunt Bobbie before she looks back up at Jason and stands next to him._

"_Hi," she whispers._

"_Hi," he says back._

_He takes her hands in his and gently rubs the back of them._

"_Dearly Beloved…."_

~*~

"I should go," Jason says, looking around to make sure no one sees them.

"Right," Elizabeth says, suddenly remembering why they can't see each other.

"I have to go pick up the boys anyway…"

"How….how are they?"

She smiles, thinking about her sons. "They're good. Cameron is getting too smart for his own good and Jake…" she pauses when she says his name, knowing that this has to be hard on Jason, "Jake is practically running everywhere now," she chuckles. "And he's babbling away. Once in awhile I actually understand what he's saying."

He smiles at the mention of his son.

"He looks more like you every day. I don't know how everyone can't see it," she says, softly.

His face looses the softness again. "I – I'm glad he's doing well."

She nods, knowing that his heart is breaking. "He is."

"Good," he says, rubbing his forehead. "I need to go," he says, motioning over his shoulder.

"Okay. Jason," she stops him before he goes too far. "It was really good seeing you."

"Yeah, you too."

He walks away and Elizabeth shuts her eyes.

Why did life have to be so difficult?

~*~

"You like the new booths at Kelly's?" Elizabeth asks Cameron when they climb into a booth.

"Yeah," Cameron says, taking a coloring menu from her.

"Here, here are the crayons. Share with your brother," she says, putting Jake into a high chair and giving him a coloring menu as well.

"Well hello there, how is the Webber/Spencer family doing?" Mike asks when he greets them at the table.

"We're just fine," she says, looking up at him. "The place looks great."

"I'm enjoying the improvements made," he says, clapping his hands together and looking around. "What can I get you to start off with?"

"I'll take water and you can bring the boys, milk."

"Sure thing."

Elizabeth takes a look around. She was here for their "Grand Opening" but it was so crowded, she didn't really get to take in the new design. She spent many years waitressing here. Some good memories, some bad.

"You know what you want yet?" Mike asks when he drops off their drinks.

"You want grilled cheese, Cam?" Elizabeth asks.

Cameron keeps coloring and nods. "Yes, please."

"Okay, grilled cheese and fries for both of them and I'll have the chili. Oh and maybe a small garden salad with Lite Ranch."

"Coming up," Mike nods.

Carly and Morgan come into the Diner. Morgan tugs on Carly's jacket when he sees Cameron.

"Can I go say hi to Cameron?" he asks.

"Oh…uh, sure. We're just picking up our order, though, so don't take too long," Carly says, looking over at Elizabeth and her sons. She smiles to herself as she looks at Jason's son.

"Hi Cameron," Morgan says when he approaches the table.

"Hi Morgan…Mommy can Morgan and I go play?" Cameron asks as he starts to scoot out of the booth.

"Go play where?" she chuckles. "I don't think Morgan and his Mommy are staying. Did you just come over to say, hi?" Elizabeth asks him.

He smiles and nods.

"Well, hi there, Morgan," she says. "Maybe we can set up a day where all three of you can meet at Bobbie's. Would you like that?" she asks, stroking his hair.

He nods and Cameron says, "Yeahhhhh."

Jake mimics him.

"I'll ask my Mommy," Morgan says.

"You'll ask your Mommy, what?" Carly asks as she approaches the table.

"I thought it might be a good idea to set up a play date at Bobbie's for all three of them. If that's okay with Bobbie, of course," Elizabeth says.

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind. She loves having her Grandson and Nephews around," Carly smiles at Cameron.

She reaches down and starts to stroke Jake's head. "He's getting so big."

Elizabeth tries not to get too nervous. "Yeah….he'll be two before I know it."

Carly squats down so she can get a better look at him. Jake looks over at her and smiles when he sees a new face looking at him.

"Hi," Carly smiles back. Tears start to well in her eyes and Elizabeth notices this.

"Carly," she starts, but Carly stands up and holds her hand up.

"I know. I just wish he could be a part of his son's life. Come on, Morgan…we don't want our dinner getting cold. Say goodbye."

"Bye," Morgan waves.

"Bye," Cameron yells.

"You and me, both, Carly," Elizabeth whispers after she leaves.

"Bye," Jake repeats, which makes her heart swell.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Way It Should Be**

**Part 4**

_Jason blinks to keep the tears away._

"_I, Jason, choose you, Elizabeth, as my everything. I vow to love you through sickness and health, through the good and the bad, through richer and poorer. You are everything I need, and at this moment I know that all my prayers have been answered and that all of my dreams have come true. This is the moment I have waited my whole life for. I promise to give you my all and I know that I could not ask for more from you. I love you and always will. This is my solemn vow."_

_Elizabeth takes a deep breath and gently squeezes Jason's hands._

"_I, Elizabeth, choose you, Jason, as my everything. I vow to love you through sickness and health, through the good and the bad, through richer and poorer. You are everything I need, and at this moment I know that all my prayers have been answered and that all of my dreams have come true. This is the moment I have waited my whole life for. I promise to give you my all and I know that I could not ask for more from you. I love you and always will. This is my solemn vow."_

_She smiles at him._

"_Jason and Elizabeth, do you have rings?" Father Coats asks._

"_Yes," they both say._

_Both turn around. Spinelli hands Jason, Elizabeth's ring and Robin hands Elizabeth, Jason's ring._

_They take turns repeating after Father as they take turns placing each other's rings on each other's fingers._

"_I give you this ring to wear with love and joy. As a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you. I choose you to be my (wife / husband) this day and forevermore."_

"_Elizabeth and Jason, it is with great pleasure that I now pronounce you, husband and wife."_

_Elizabeth's smile is so big that she can't help but get emotional and she and Jason lean into each other for their first kiss as a married couple._

"_I love you," he whispers when they pull apart._

"_I love you, too," she whispers back._

"_Friends and family…I present you with Jason and ," Father Coats says with enthusiasm as he starts the applause._

_Elizabeth and Jason turn to face the small gathering of their friends and family._

~*~

"Hey," Elizabeth says, startled from sleep.

She sits up and looks around. Lucky sits next to her on the couch.

"Hey," he says. "You fell asleep on the couch. I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to get you up to your bed," he whispers.

"Oh," she says, groggily. "I must have fallen asleep watching TV. What…what are you doing here?" she asks, rubbing her eye.

"I was just checking on you. I saw the light from the TV glowing from the window so I used my key…you didn't use the dead bolt."

"I always lock that when I go up to bed," she yawns. "Well, thanks for waking me up, my neck will be happier about it in the morning," she tries to joke.

She starts to get up but Lucky's body is in the way. She hadn't realized how close he was sitting to her.

"I've missed you, so much," he says, staring at her intently.

She shifts back a little.

"Missed me? You just saw me this afternoon," she tries to joke.

"I try to think back to what went wrong. What made us get to the point where we cheated on each other?"

He starts to gently rub her leg.

"Lucky.." she starts. "Do we have to analyze this now? I'm really tired."

"I just wish I had been able to fix things…"

"That's in the past," she says, patting his hand. "Now, please, can I go to bed?" she teases.

A slow smile forms on his face. "Oh sure…sorry," he chuckles.

"That's okay….hey, did something happen at work tonight?" she asks, wondering why he was so suddenly sentimental.

"No."

"Oh, okay. Good night," she says, waiting by the front door.

When he doesn't move, she says, "I want to lock the dead bolt, but I can't do that until you're gone."

"Oh….right." He gets up and goes to the door. "Good night, Elizabeth."

He leans down and kisses her cheek.

"I'm getting the kids from daycare tomorrow, right?"

"Uh, there is no daycare, remember?"

He chuckles and rubs his forehead. "Right. I'll pick them up from here, then?"

"Yeah…right, tomorrow is your night to have them. Yeah, just call before you come over, I have some errands I want to run."

"Sure. Bye."

"Bye," she says before shutting the door and locking both locks.

~*~

Elizabeth slowly walks toward the door to her Studio. She hadn't been here since Jake had been kidnapped. She clasps her hands together so that they don't shake.

Taking a deep breath, she unlocks the door.

Her eyes scan the room. It's exactly how she left it. She wasn't sure if she thought it would have magically been cleaned up.

She shuts and locks the door behind her. When she walks into the room, her hand covers her mouth when she sees the ripped up canvas, still sitting in the trash can.

Her mind flashes back to when she took a knife and started to destroy it. She remembered feeling so confused. Her love for Jason was so strong, but yet, because of him, their son had been taken away from her. How could she want to be with someone like that?

She shakes her head and takes a deep breath. The tears, welling in her eyes. She takes a few deep breaths to calm herself.

"What was I thinking?" she whispers as she looks around the room.

Grabbing a smaller canvas, she sits down on the couch and studies it. Her finger traces the lines of the sketch. It was a sketch she started the day after she and Jason had decided to try to make things work…to make their family work. Even though he stood her up that night, when she found out why, she came to the Studio and started to sketch what she was feeling.

Her joy and happiness….how scared and somewhat apprehensive she felt because he told her someone was trying to kill him. All of those emotions, rolled into one.

And then, he came to tell her to get out of town. Her head fell back against the couch. He wanted her and the boys to go to a safe house…with guards, but Lucky insisted on a remote cabin – up in the woods. With no cell phone reception.

She rubs her forehead, trying to push away the developing headache.

What would have happened if she had gone to the safe house, like Jason had wanted?

Would Jake have been kidnapped? Probably not. She would have been protected and safe.

Safe.

In a safe house with bullet proof glass and a couple of armed guards outside the door.

But they would have been safe.

Jake probably wouldn't have been kidnapped and where would she be right now?

Making plans with Jason? For their family?

Would he have moved in with them or would they have moved into the Penthouse?

Now she rubs her temple because the headache was more of a reality.

If only she would have listened to Jason instead of Lucky…..


	5. Chapter 5

**The Way It Should Be**

**Part 5**

_Elizabeth turns to hug Robin._

"_I'm so happy for the two of you," Robin tells her friend._

"_Thank you…for everything," Elizabeth says._

_Jason clasps Spinelli's hand._

"_Well, you and the Fair Elizabeth did it," Spinelli says._

"_Yeah, man….we did. I'm uh, I'm glad you were here," he says, patting Spinelli on the shoulder._

"_My turn," Carly says, walking toward Jason with open arms._

_They embrace._

"_You look happy," she says, pulling slightly away from him, but keeping him in her arms._

"_I am."_

"_I hope it stays that way, because if that Muff…."_

"_Carly," Jason interjects, but smiles._

"_I just don't want you to get hurt," she pouts and pulls him into another hug._

"_I won't."_

_Elizabeth hugs both of her boys when Bobbie brings them over to her._

"_You guys were so good," she tells them._

"_Mommy, why are you crying?" Cameron asks._

"_Because I'm so happy, baby. This is a new life for all of us," she says._

_When she stands up, she catches Nikolas' eye in the back of the church. He smiles at her._

_She tries to hold back more tears and mouths, "Thank you," to him._

_He nods and smiles before turning and leaving. She knew it was hard for him to be here. He wasn't a big fan of Jason's and considering her ex-husband is his brother, it had to have been awkward. But he loved her like a sister and wanted to show his love and support and it meant to world to her._

"_So, I have to say," Maxie begins, "that I didn't think Jason knew how to smile. But he actually does…and he actually looks, like, happy," she tells Spinelli when he pulls her to the side of the church._

"_Stone Cold loves the Maternal One, very much. I was witness to his struggle over these past couple years. I know what this means to his heart," Spinelli says._

"_Heart? See, I didn't even know he had one," Maxie teases._

~*~

"Who is it?" Jason yells as he walks toward the door to his Penthouse.

"Agent Rayner."

"Shit," Jason mumbles as he rubs his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

"What do you want?" he asks when he opens the door.

"I think we need to seal the deal, so to speak," Rayner says when he walks into the Penthouse.

"Look, I went out of town, I brought back Zacchara and got information that you can use…"

"What if it isn't enough?" Rayner asks, turning to face Jason.

"Then that's the FBI's problem. I think what I gave you is enough to start digging into Zacchara's business and indict him on many counts. You just have to work for it a little bit," Jason says angrily.

"You still trying to cover your tracks?" Rayner asks, smugly.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing? If word gets out that I had ANYTHING to do with this, I'm as good as dead!" Jason yells, slamming his hand down on his desk.

Rayner barely flinches. "What do you have to live for, Morgan? Is it that little boy of yours? How is he, by the way?"

"Go to hell," Jason mumbles through gritted teeth.

"My my…a bit touchy, aren't we?"

Jason tries to steady his breathing.

"I am on your side here, remember? I think you can prove very useful to me, so I don't want to see you get in trouble…..or end up dead."

"Then I suggest you quit showing up where people can see us together."

Rayner walks around Jason's apartment.

"What do you want most, Jason?"

"For you to leave me alone," he spits out.

Rayner chuckles. "Besides that and besides Spinelli being free, because that's a done deal."

Jason stares at him.

"You want your family, don't you? But what's stopping you? The danger? The danger your life brings to their life? That pretty little thing…Elizabeth Webber, I believe? Does she love you?"

Jason looks down at the ground, one hand is resting on the desk. He's trying not to show any emotion to what Rayner is telling him.

"I'm guessing she does. And do you love her? Well, she is the mother of your son."

When Jason doesn't look up or react, Rayner comes closer to him.

"What would you say if I told you that you could have a safe life with them?"

Jason looks up. Unsure of what Rayner is getting at.

"My life will never be safe," he says.

"If I offer my protection, it will be."

Jason shakes his head. "I can never change who I am or what I do. I've tried that before…"

"I didn't say you had to change what you did. You can still run your operation, just like normal, but I could offer inside protection."

Jason looks at him with apprehension.

"I'm listening."

~*~

Elizabeth opens the window to the Studio. Spring is almost near and the small room was getting stuffy. Plus, the paint fumes were starting to mess with her head.

It felt good to be painting again.

She started to spend more of her free time in the Studio again. She realized that she could still dream of being an artist even though she couldn't dream of a life with Jason. Her painting was more realistic than that.

She stares at the couch and her mind wanders to a couple of almosts she and Jason had on that couch.

She shakes her head and feels herself blush.

"God, Elizabeth, get it together," she says out loud.

~*~

"Did you meet with Rayner again, behind my back?" Diane asks when Jason opens the Penthouse door for her.

"He just showed up. Look…you have to tell me if what he told me is legit, if it's something he could promise?" Jason asks.

She squints. "Okay."

"Okay," he starts, almost nervously, "Is it possible, for him to provide me with inside protection – forever?"

"Inside protection?" she asks.

"Like, if I kept doing business the way I do business…"

She nods.

"And something happened with the cops or lets say the IRS tried to audit me, could Rayner's people step in and make it all go away?"

Diane processes what he's just asked her. "Are you serious?" she asks.

"I just need to know…"

"Do you _want_ to believe him?"

He swallows.

"This is about Elizabeth and Jake, isn't it?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" he asks, shifting his feet.

"He dangled that in front of you like a carrot in front of a rabbit. Jason, I've told you before," she softens just a bit, "If you love Elizabeth and your son, like I think you do…and you're staying away from them to protect them, it's too late. People already know she means _something_ to you. It was evident the first time you found Jake for her and even more so this last time you found him!"

He turns his head away from her.

"Jason, you are my favorite client….ever. And other than the very large retainer you provide for me, I'm not sure why," she adds quickly. "You are a very complicated soul but I know that deep down, there is a heart. You care about what happens to the people around you. I shouldn't feel safe, working for you, should I?"

Before he can say anything she continues.

"But I do. Because I know, no matter what….you've got my back…..remember that."


	6. Chapter 6

**The Way It Should Be**

**Part 6**

"_Was today everything you were hoping it would be?" Jason asks later that evening._

"_Yes, it was perfect," she says, reaching up so that her lips can brush over his._

"_Not too many people, just the right people…" she lists off. "Our boys," she smiles._

_He chuckles. "They were pretty cute walking you down the aisle."_

"_They did a good job, I was very proud of them."_

_He pulls their entwined hands to his mouth so he can kiss the back of her hand. He finds it funny that he could be so content doing nothing but lying in bed with the woman he loves._

"_It was nice of Carly to let us use this suite for the night?" Elizabeth says, looking around the room._

"_Yes, it was. Thank you for letting her come to the wedding." He brushes the hair from her shoulder before he leans down and kisses it._

"_She's your friend, Jason. If you wanted her there, I wasn't going to keep her away. Besides, maybe she saw how happy we are," she shrugs and leans her head back to give him more access to her neck._

"_Mmhmm," he mumbles._

"_I'm glad we didn't have a party." She runs her hands through the back of his hair._

_He glances up at her. "Me too."_

_No more words are needed, at least for a little while._

~*~

Elizabeth takes a break from painting and goes over to the minifridge to get out a bottled water. She looks down at her smock and realizes what a mess she is. She can only imagine what her hair looks like.

She jumps a little when there's a knock on her Studio door.

"Uh, who is it?" she asks, hoping that it's not Lucky.

Did she really just think that?

"It's Jason."

Elizabeth's eyes get big and her hearts starts to beat faster. She takes her smock off and smoothes out her sweater. She tries to check her hair in a dirty mirror but realizes it's hopeless.

Opening the door she says, "Hi."

"Hi….can I uh, come in?" he asks.

"Oh, sure," she says, letting him by. She takes in a long look and almost blushes for doing that.

"Is everything okay?" she asks, shutting and locking the door.

"Yeah. I saw your window open so I thought you were probably up here," he says, wringing his hands nervously together.

"Oh. Yeah, I was painting," she says, turning the radio down a bit.

"That's good. I'm glad you still paint," he nods.

God, the way he looks at her.

"Yeah. I had stopped for a bit."

She closes her eyes. Why did she just say that?

"Really? Why?"

She walks toward the window. "It just didn't….it didn't fit in with what was going on."

"But you love it," he continues.

"Yeah, but it was a dream, just like…." She stops herself, biting her lip.

Suddenly he gets it and he nods before looking down. "I'm sorry."

"I told you never to be sorry for who you are," she whispers, which makes him look up.

God, the way she looked at him.

"I um," she bites her lip and walks over to the coffee table, "I have pictures of Jake, if you want to see them," she says, holding them out for him.

He walks over to her and slowly takes them. They sit down on the couch.

"I think he grows inches every time I see new pictures of him," he whispers, trying not to get choked up.

"I know. This age they grow so fast and start doing so many new things," she says, staring at his profile.

He slowly flips through the photos, taking in each one of them.

"What are they doing in this one?" he chuckles.

Elizabeth leans over and her chest brushes up against his arm, both try not to react to their touch. She chuckles when she figures out what was happening in the picture.

"Oh, I think Cameron took Jake's toy car right before I took the shot. So Jake is trying to pull it away with a very stern look on his face."

Jason smiles and rubs his eye so that the tears don't fall.

Elizabeth doesn't move away from him. Being this close to him feels so good and so right.

Jason stops at a picture of Elizabeth, Jake and Cameron.

"This one is really good."

"Thanks. Luck-Lucky took it. I didn't even realize he had the camera."

Jason stares at every detail of it. The way Elizabeth's eyes are shining in it. The way both boys are laughing.

"Right there….that look, the way Jake smiles like that. I think that's definitely your smile," she says. "He reminds me so much of you."

Suddenly, she pulls away from him, which makes him look at her.

She gets up and walks over to the window.

"I'm trying to forget about you, but it's hard when I see a reminder of you every day."

"I-I'm sorry," he stutters.

"I mean, I'm not sorry for Jake or anything about him. I'm glad that he's ours, but it just reminds me of what we can't have," she shrugs.

He nods in understanding.

"I've been thinking about that…" he starts.

"Elizabeth, are you in there?" Lucky shouts as he knocks on the door. "I saw the light on and the window open."

Elizabeth glances at Jason nervously before going to open the door.

"I thought you had the boys," she says, after opening the door and noticing they weren't with her.

"I dropped them off at Grandma Leslie's so that you and I could have a nice dinner…." He stops when he sees Jason getting up from the couch. "Jason."

"I was just about to leave," Jason mumbles, trying to hand the pictures back to Elizabeth. She takes them from him, but slides the one of her and the boys back into his hand and gives him a small smile.

"Take care," he says before leaving.

"Bye."

She shuts the door and bites her tongue so that she doesn't yell at Lucky or call him every name in the book.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"Why was Jason here?" he asks, hands on his hips.

"None of your business," she says, going back over to the coffee table to set the pictures back down.

"It is my business when I'm the one who comes around and picks up the pieces, Elizabeth."

She just stares at him.

"Look, maybe you need an intervention…"

"A what?" she asks, folding her arms across her chest.

"An intervention….it's like you're slipping back into drugs again. You need to be stopped."

"You're being ridiculous," she says, waving him off. "Jason and I made the decision together to stop seeing each other for Jake's sake."

"Then why was he here?"

"He wanted to make sure I was okay…." She says, not quite sure why he did stop by.

"Come on, let's go to dinner," he says, starting to pull at her arm.

"Wait, Lucky….I am painting. I grabbed something from Kelly's so I am not hungry," she says, pulling away from his grasp.

"Oh. Well, I can go grab something from Kelly's and sit here and watch you," he smiles at her.

She shakes her head. "You know I paint better alone."

He tries not to look defeated. "I just wanted to surprise you with a nice evening. Just the two of us."

She swallows. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah. Well, maybe next time."

"Sure," she shrugs.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Way It Should Be**

**Part 7**

"_Are you sure you'll be okay living here for awhile?" Jason asks as he sets Elizabeth's suitcase down in the Penthouse._

"_Yes, Jason….as long as I'm with you, I don't care where we are," she says, wrapping her arms around his neck._

_He leans down and kisses her. "What about the boys? They've been through so many changes lately, I don't want to upset them," he says before kissing her again._

_She smiles against his lips. "I love how you worry about them, but Cameron is pretty easy going as long as he has his "Car's" stuff or "Chuggin' Charlie" and Jake is Jake," she shrugs._

"_What does that mean?" he asks, brushing a strand of hair away from her face._

"_He's just…I don't know…Jake."_

_He just stares at her and she giggles before pulling away and walking over to the couch. He follows and sits down next to her. She throws her leg over his._

"_He is really easy going. It's like nothing phases him, really. He just takes everything in stride. Doesn't stay mad for long…"_

"_Hmph, he doesn't get that from me, he must get that from you," he leans over again, gently nudging her lips with his own._

_After another mind blowing kiss, Elizabeth says, "Some of it. But I definitely see some of your personality in him. He has your heart, I can tell."_

"_What…Stone Cold?" he teases._

_He gently strokes the thigh that is draped across his lap. He can't keep his hands off of her and she doesn't mind one bit._

"_No…the heart that you have given to me," she says, softly. She touches his chest. "The one you showed me that made me fall in love with you."_

"_And only you," he whispers, leaning in for a kiss again._

_God, he couldn't get enough of this woman._

~*~

"Are you and Lucky getting back together again?" Robin asks, plopping down on the couch next to Elizabeth.

"God, no….why would you ask?" Elizabeth asks before taking a drink of the tea that Robin just brought her from her kitchen.

"I don't know. It's just that he keeps hanging around you a lot. And there's something about the way he looks at you," Robin shrugs before popping snack mix into her mouth.

"Well, he hangs around a lot because of the boys and I don't know what you're talking about as far as how he's looking at me. I mean, we share a long history together. There are feelings there, but that of love and respect….for our sons."

She takes a handful of snack mix herself and starts thinking about what Robin said.

"Okay, if you say so. I think he's looking at you like he's in looovvveee," she drags out the word.

Elizabeth rolls her eyes. "I'm not going there again," she says, holding her hand up.

"But what if he is?" Robin asks, seriously.

"I'll have to stop him, before it gets too deep. Because that would just be awkward since we share custody," Elizabeth says, shaking her head.

"And there's no way you would have those feelings again for him?"

"No. It wouldn't be healthy for Lucky and I to go down that path again. We've tried it a few times and each time we imploded. We're finally at a point where we have a good, honest relationship with each other, which is good for Cameron and Jake," she says, clapping her hands against her thighs.

Robin nods. "Okay. As long as you know. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"Yeah, I don't think my heart can take anymore. That's why I'm swearing off men – forever."

Now Robin is the one who rolls her eyes. "Whatever."

"No, really. This last breakup with Jason…" She can't finish the sentence.

Robin reaches over and gently rubs Elizabeth's back.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Elizabeth swallows and shakes her head and then shrugs.

"Yes….and no."

She rubs that spot over her heart again, hoping the dull ache doesn't come back.

"I love him….I still love him. I try to forget," she says, pulling her leg up close to her body and wrapping her arms around them.

"I know. It's hard to forget Jason. Remember, I've been there," Robin says, reassuringly.

"And I have a daily reminder of him," she whispers softly, knowing that Robin doesn't know the truth about Jake.

Robin's eyes narrow and she thinks about what her friend just said. She gasps.

"Oh my God….Jake," she says before covering her mouth with her hand.

Elizabeth tucks her chin next to her knee and nods. "Yeah."

"Oh, Elizabeth," she says, wrapping her arm around her. "I'm so sorry." Then the reality of it hits her. "Jason's a daddy?"

"You understand why it's a secret, right?" Elizabeth says, pulling her face away from her knee.

"Of course. I won't say anything, not even to Patrick, I promise," she says, holding up one hand. "God, this must be so hard on both of you. I'm sure he wants to be a part of his son's life."

Elizabeth nods. "But we decided, together, that it was better for Jake if Lucky raised him."

"Does Lucky know?" she asks, curiously.

"Yeah. I mean, not until Jake was about 6 months old, though. But even after he found out, he agreed to remain as his father because it was safer."

Robin and Elizabeth sit in silence for awhile. Both listening to the sound of the tic-toc of the clock on the wall.

"Why _is_ it safer?" Robin finally asks.

"What?" Elizabeth asks, turning to face her friend.

"What makes it safe, staying away from him? I mean, no one knows Jake is his son and yet, he was still kidnapped. Maybe you guys would have been safer if you _were_ with Jason."

Elizabeth starts to pull away a little, but Robin touches her arm.

"Right? If you were with him, you'd have security and protection…..and love?"

That makes Elizabeth look back at Robin.

"You make it sound so easy."

"Isn't it? Bad things have happened to you and your family even with Jason staying away. I just know that if you were with Jason, he'd do everything to make sure no one hurt his family."

"Even if it meant guards and bullet proof glass. The boys wouldn't have a normal life and they can have that now," she rattles off, remembering Jason's words to her once.

Robin takes a deep breath.

"What's normal?" she shrugs.

They look at each other and laugh. Elizabeth wraps her arms around Robin and squeezes. "Thank you."


	8. Chapter 8

**The Way It Should Be**

**Part 8**

"_Do you like your room?" Elizabeth asks Cameron as he hops down the stairs._

_Cameron nods and jumps off the last step, skipping over two steps._

"_Whoa there, Buddy, be careful," Jason says, coming back into the living room with Jake in his arms._

"_I like the bed," Cameron says._

"_Your mom knew you'd like that. What's his name…that Car?" Jason asks._

"_Lightening McQueen," Cameron says, rolling his eyes, very much like how his mother does sometimes._

_Elizabeth laughs. "Oh don't worry, you'll get to know the Disney characters very well," she says, taking Jake from him when he sits down._

"_I have no doubt. I can't wait."_

_Cameron crawls up on the couch on the other side of Elizabeth and she wraps her arm around him._

_Her perfect family. Well, perfect to her. _

_She rests her head against Jason's shoulder as he wraps his arm around her. Jake plays with a toy car he's been carrying around with him._

"_Bah," he says, holding it up to Jason._

"_That means, car," Elizabeth says._

"_I thought it meant bottle?" Jason says, trying not to get confused._

"_No, bahbah is bottle…well, his sippy cut, he doesn't drink out of a bottle anymore."_

"_I have a lot to learn," he smiles._

"_You will. You'll catch on before you know it."_

_Jake looks over at Jason with curious eyes. The same eyes, in fact._

"_This all almost feels like it's not really happening," he says, stroking Jake's arm._

"_Like it's surreal?" _

"_Yeah, I guess," Jason nods._

_Jake rests his head against Elizabeth's shoulder and his eyes start to flutter close, but he can't take his eyes off of Jason._

"_It's almost like he knows," Elizabeth whispers._

"_Knows what?" Jason whispers back._

"_That you're his daddy. He's memorizing you almost."_

_She places a kiss on the top of Jake's head._

"_I feel like I'm memorizing him, too. Just like this moment," he softly smiles._

~*~

"Oh my God, you scared me," Elizabeth says, jumping when she opens the front door to her house and Lucky was standing there, getting ready to knock.

"Sorry," he chuckles.

"Uh, I don't have the boys. You aren't here to pick them up, are you?" she asks, trying to sort out the days in her head.

"No. I was here to take you out. But I see you're going out already."

"Girl's night," she shrugs, looking down at her high heeled pumps and tight jeans.

"Oh….at Jake's?"

"Yeah. We invited Rebecca this time. She seems like fun," Elizabeth shrugs.

"Yeah, she's nice."

"She likes you."

"Elizabeth," he says, hanging his head.

"What…she does," she laughs. "You should ask her out."

"I don't want to ask her out," he snaps.

"Oh…sorry," she says.

"Can we go in and talk for a minute?" he asks apologetically.

"I really need to get going," she says, shaking her head.

"I want you back."

That makes her stop in her tracks.

"You what?"

"I want you back. I want us back. I thought you were feeling the same way," he says, leaning in closer to her.

Before he can touch her, she backs away.

"Oh Lucky…I'm sorry if I gave you that impression."

"Oh," he says, suddenly feeling foolish.

"I just don't think it would be healthy to go back to that…"

~*~

"Well, you were right," Elizabeth says, plopping her purse down next to Robin at Jake's.

"About?"

"Lucky."

She sits down and motions for Coleman for a beer.

"Ohhhh. So what happened?"

"I told him I wasn't interested in him that way and he got upset and blamed Jason," Elizabeth says, rolling her eyes. "It always comes down to that."

"Did you part on okay terms, though?" Robin asks, starting to peel the label from her beer.

"I think so. It will be awkward for awhile, but we'll get past it…for the boys."

Coleman nods over at Jason when he walks in. He doesn't notice the ladies at the bar and they don't notice him.

Within a few minutes, Kelly and Rebecca join Robin and Elizabeth.

"No fair, you guys started without us," Kelly whines.

"It's just one beer, I'm sure you'll catch up soon," Robin says before taking another swig.

"So….what do we do for this girl's night?" Rebecca asks, taking a sip of her first beer of the night.

"Tequila," the other 3 say in unison, which makes them all laugh.

After about 3 "lick it, slam it and suck its" the girls weren't feeling any pain.

"God, he is hot," Rebecca says, turning around to see Jason playing pool.

Robin is the first to turn around and see who Rebecca is referring to. Her eyes get really big, which makes Elizabeth turn around.

"Oh," she says and watches him as he leans over the pool table.

"Okay, that's just weird, though," Kelly chimes in, not understanding why it's a big deal to Robin and Elizabeth, "because, you look like his sister….so ewwwww."

Robin and Elizabeth laugh.

"She's right," Robin agrees.

"I'm really getting tired of this Emily thing. I'll prove it to you," she says, sliding off the bar stool.

"Oh my God…what is she going to do?" Robin asks.

Elizabeth turns and faces away from the pool table and shuts her eyes. The only thing she's feeling right now, is jealousy.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Way It Should Be**

**Part 9**

"_I can not believe how beautiful it is here, Jason," Elizabeth says from the balcony of their suite in Venice._

"_Neither can I," he says, staring at her with the city as her background._

_She turns and smiles at him. "You weren't looking out there."_

"_It doesn't matter. THE most beautiful thing in the world is right in front of me."_

_She blushes. "Especially when you do that," he says, wrapping his arms around here._

"_Hmmmm," she moans as she wraps her arms around his waist._

_He kisses her forehead before pulling back to look down at her._

"_Happy?"_

"_Yes. I'm in Italy, with my husband. When we get back, the paperwork for changing Jake's birth certificate to show you're the father should be complete. Now, I just need to ask Diane to start on adoption papers for Cameron."_

_He pushes her away to arms length so he can see her._

"_That is, if you want," she stutters. "I just assumed."_

"_No – I just wasn't expecting that. At least not so soon…"_

_She chews on her lower lip. "Well, it can wait, I just thought…" she tries not to cry._

"_Why didn't you ever ask Lucky?"_

_She turns away and stares out through the open balcony doors._

"_I don't know. It never felt right. I mean," she says, turning around to face him again, "God, that didn't sound right because he was-is Cameron's father in every way possible, except biologically. He has been there for me and Cameron since Cameron was a baby. I guess I never thought we needed a piece of paper to say anything otherwise."_

_He nods and takes her hand._

"_And it's not that I feel that you need a piece of paper to prove you are, but with making it official with Jake, I just thought we should make it official with Cameron. Maybe it was a bad idea," she shakes her head._

"_No, it wasn't a bad idea, but we need to think it all the way through. If we do that, it's going to make Lucky mad and right now, we're working on the whole limited custody thing with him, so I don't think taking away the one thing he thinks he has with Cameron is the right solution – for now."_

_She pulls him closer and gets lost in his warmth. "Maybe you're right."_

~*~

"Hi," Rebecca says, sliding over near Jason.

He stands up straight and takes a step back.

"Hi…Rebecca, right?"

She nods and leans over a little more so her cleavage shows more.

He shuts his eyes and looks the other way.

"Okay, we need intervention," Kelly says, grabbing Elizabeth's hand.

"Uh, Kelly…no," she tries to protest.

"Rebecca?" Kelly asks, trying to get her to stand up straight. "You need to come back to the bar with me, Elizabeth here will play a game of pool with Jason. Keep him out of trouble," she says, patting Elizabeth's hand.

Jason stares at Elizabeth.

"Hi," he says.

"Hi," she replies. "You don't have to play pool with me, Kelly was just trying to prevent Rebecca from making more of a fool of herself."

"I don't mind. I'd like to see if you've gotten rusty," he teases, racking up the balls.

She blushes because she can't remember the last time he flirted with her like this.

"Me, rusty? Bring it on, big boy," she says, grabbing a stick.

~*~

"Okay…I admit, you must have been practicing," Jason laughs before taking a drink of beer.

Elizabeth looks around and can't find hers so she takes his from him and takes a drink.

He holds his hand out in the same position as it was when she took it and just stares at her.

"Yes, you may have a drink of MY beer," he kids.

"Thanks."

"Elizabeth," he says, leaning in closer.

"Yes," she says, leaning in too.

"Are you drunk?"

She shrugs. "Feelin' it."

She covers her mouth with her hand when she realizes the last time she heard that phrase was the night Jason got her pregnant.

"I probably shouldn't say that," she laughs.

"Okay…I think you've had enough," he says, taking the beer away from her.

"You want me to take her home?" Robin laughs as she comes over to them. Rebecca and Kelly were long gone.

"No, I can get her home," he says, holding onto Elizabeth so she doesn't fall.

"You sure? I live right by her now…"

"I think I might just drop her off at the Studio and let her sleep it off."

"Okay. Good night Elizabeth," she says, looking her friend straight in the face.

Elizabeth gives her a serious look and then starts to laugh, uncontrollably.

"Yeah, good luck," Robin tells Jason before leaving.

"Come on, Miss I'm Not Drunk," he says, holding her up as he walks her to his SUV.

~*~

"Easy," Jason says, as he sits her down on the couch in her Studio.

"Why did you bring me here?" she asks, starting to sober up a little.

"Because, it's closer. Do I need to call anyone to tell them that you won't be getting the boys tonight?" he asks, handing her a bottled water.

She takes it and tries to open it, but can't so she hands it back to him. He loosens the lid and she shakes her head. "No. Grams has them."

"Okay, good."

She looks around. "Why did you bring me here again?" She scratches her head.

He looks around the room, wondering why she keeps asking.

"Because, it's closer. I didn't want you puking in my car," he jokes, sitting down next to her.

She stares at him. Like she's trying to figure him out.

"You're not supposed to be around me," she whispers. "Which, by the way, I think is stupid. People already know that we're friends or more than friends…or whatever the hell we are," she says, flailing her arm around.

"I know. But, I've been thinking…"

Jason's cell phone rings, which makes him shut his eyes before flipping it open and answering it.

"Yeah."

Elizabeth leans over and lets her head fall onto the pillows on the arm of the couch.

"Spinelli, calm down. I'm sure it's not as bad as you think….okay, okay, I'll be there in five minutes," he says before flipping his phone back shut.

"I know, I know," she mumbles into the pillow. "You have to go."

He leans over and kisses her temple. "We need to talk. I'll be back when I can, okay?"

She nods but doesn't move her head away from the pillow.

"Just sleep it off," he says, touching her thigh before getting up to leave.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Way It Should Be**

**Part 10**

_Elizabeth, Jason and the boys all pile into Kelly's._

"_I pick the booth," Cameron yells, running over to a booth in the corner._

"_I guess we're sitting over here," Elizabeth chuckles._

_Jason grabs a high chair and brings it over to the table._

"_I want to sit by Jason," Cameron says, "but you go in first."_

_Elizabeth puts Jake in the high chair and sits across from them._

"_The first time you get out of that booth, you're sitting on the other side of me, you hear me?" Elizabeth asks Cameron._

"_Yes, Mommy," he says._

_They get situated with the coloring menus, crayons and Elizabeth pulls a menu out to look at it herself._

"_You actually don't know what you want?" Jason asks, surprised._

"_I might want something different," she shrugs._

_The waitress comes over and takes their drink orders._

_The bell on the door rings and Cameron looks up from his drawing._

"_Daddy," he yells as he gets out of the booth and runs over to Lucky._

_Elizabeth glances over at Jason to gauge his reaction. It's the first time they've run into him since they got back from their honeymoon._

_Jake watches Cameron run away and when he sees Lucky, he gets a smile on his face and holds his arms out to be picked up._

"_You're fine," Elizabeth says to him._

"_It's okay, Elizabeth," Jason says softly._

_Lucky walks over to their booth, holding Cameron in his arms._

"_Hey Buddy," Lucky says, rubbing Jake's head._

"_We're having dinner, Daddy," Cameron says._

"_Yeah, I see that. How was Italy?" he asks, looking at Elizabeth._

"_It was great," she says, softly._

_Jake keeps stretching in his seat for Lucky to pick him up._

"_It's okay if you want to get him out," she tells Lucky._

"_No, it's okay. I'm just picking up something for Ruiz and I…we're on duty. I guess I'll call you about what time I should get the boys for this weekend," he says as he starts to walk away._

"_Okay."_

"_Bye, Cam."_

"_Bye Daddy," Cameron says before busying himself with his coloring again._

_Jake starts to get fussy when Lucky leaves without holding him, so Elizabeth pulls him out of his chair and sets him on her lap._

"_I'm really sorry," she says to Jason._

_She can't even read the emotion, or lack there of, on his face._

"_You have nothing to be sorry about. This is all going to take time and he is their father," he says, looking at a straw wrapper in his hands._

"_For now," she says, putting her hand over his._

~*~

"Oh, my head," Elizabeth says, slowly sitting up on the couch.

"What the?" she asks, looking around. "My Studio?"

She plops back down when it all comes back to her.

Jason brought her here.

Oh God, Jason…did she say anything embarrassing? She hopes not.

She flinches when there's a knock on the door.

"Go away," she mumbles.

"Elizabeth, I'm just checking to see if you're okay," Jason says, trying to hide his amusement.

She groans and gets up off of the couch and heads to the door.

"What?" she asks when she opens it.

He hides his laughter.

"It's not funny," she says, pressing her cheek against the door. "And aren't you supposed to be staying away from me? Why are you around all the time? I'm trying to forget you."

She didn't care what she said or how she sounded when she said it, she was in pain right now and it felt good to get that off of her chest.

"Actually, I tried to tell you last night but got interrupted by Spinelli," he says, walking past her.

"Tell me what?" she asks, closing the door behind him, gently enough that it didn't hurt her head.

"Do you uh, want to get cleaned up or something? Maybe splash some water on your face?"

She glares at him. "I don't know. I really just want to go back to sleep."

"Maybe some water…flush it out of your system," he says, reaching for a bottled water.

He opens the bottle for her, remembering the trouble she had the night before.

"Gee, thanks. Oh, I have to pee," she says, setting the water down and walking quickly to the bathroom.

He puts his hands on his hips and chuckles, shaking his head.

"What have you been thinking about?" she asks from the bathroom.

"Uh, I'll wait until you come back out," he yells back.

About twenty minutes later, she comes out of the bathroom, looking more alive and refreshed than when she went in.

"Oh, you're still here," she says.

"Feel better?"

She sits down and takes a long drink of the water and nods. "Much."

"So, what's up?" she asks, placing the water bottle between her knees.

"Well…what you said about hanging around," he says, sliding in the seat next to her. "I find that once I see you again, I can't help it."

"What are you saying?" she asks cautiously.

He chews on his lower lip and looks around the room. "Well….I….uh, maybe we…"

"You want us to start seeing each other in secret?" she asks, trying to hide the hopefulness from her voice.

"Well, no, that didn't work out too well."

He smiles when her face falls and a sadness sets in her eyes.

"Oh, well, look Jason, it's really hard for me to get over you, when you keep hanging around," she says, trying to stand up but he stops her and gently nudges her to sit back down.

"I don't want you to forget me."

"I don't want to forget you."

"I've been doing a lot of thinking…"

She nods and stares into his eyes.

He swallows. "Maybe it is safer if we were out in the open. If we were a family," he says softly.

"A family?" she repeats, making sure she heard him correctly.

"Yeah," he nods and smiles. "If we were together, I could protect you better than I can if you're staying away. I mean, people already know you mean something to me, right?" he asks, going over the conversation he had with Diane a few days ago.

Elizabeth feels like this is déjà vu, like with her conversation with Robin.

"Have you been talking to Robin?" she asks.

"No," he chuckles. "What are you thinking, Elizabeth?' he asks, starting to stroke her thighs.

"Is this really happening?" she asks, closing her eyes.

Maybe she's still in a drunk coma.

"Yeah."

"Ask me again," she whispers, opening her eyes.

"Would you marry me?" he asks, totally taking her breath away. She wasn't expecting him to ask her that.

"Oh, Jason," she says, shaking her head.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Way It Should Be**

**Part 11**

"Okay, that's not the reaction I was hoping for," he smiles at her. "It is only my fourth time asking you."

Tears form in her eyes and she continues to shake her head.

"Jason…are you sure? I mean, we need to think this all the way through."

"I have been thinking about it, a lot."

He shifts in his seat a little to get more comfortable, taking her hands in his as he does.

"When Epiphany told me that you might not make it…that the poison was practically suffocating you to death," he says, hoarsely, "all these things went through my mind. I wanted to go in there and hold you and tell you how much I loved you, but she told me I should stay away so you could rest. I didn't want to bring anymore harm to you than I already have…"

"Jason," she says, sympathetically, stroking his chin.

"But all I could think about was not having you in my life….for good. It was all I could think about so in order to stay away from your room, for your health and safety, I tried to help everyone else, but I was always thinking about you."

She nods and puts her hand back in his. He gently squeezes them.

"It must have hurt you to see Lucky in my room," she says.

"I understood why. You two share a history. He cares….it made sense," he shrugs. "But I still wished it was me."

"Me too," she smiles at him through watery eyes.

"But then, when the crisis was over and I knew you were safe and getting better, I decided my decision to stay away was for the best."

She nods and looks down at their hands.

"What has changed your mind, this time?" she asks before looking back up at him.

"I talked to Diane."

"Oh," Elizabeth says with surprise.

"I know," he chuckles, "she doesn't seem like a likely source, but she tells me how it is and she knows about you…and Jake. So, she tells me that people already know about my connection to you and to Jake because of my actions from the past and whether I have feelings for you or not," he pauses, taking a deep breath, "that they could still assume that you are connected to me and use you."

She thinks about it and shrugs. "She's right."

"So, even if I push you away from me, it's not going to matter. If Sasha comes back, she could still try to use you and I wouldn't be near you to try and stop it," he says, stroking her cheek.

She leans her cheek into his hand.

"I still love you," he says, with sincerity. "I never stopped."

"I love you, too," she says, with so much emotion, she almost cries.

He leans into her and gently touches his lips to hers. She whimpers slightly at the touch and then presses her mouth to his, harder and deeper. This kiss had to make up for all of the kisses they've missed the past few months.

When they break apart, they rest their foreheads against each other's, trying to catch their breath.

"So, what are we going to do?" she asks.

"Well, you never answered me," he smiles, sitting back a little so he could see her face. His hands are still gently holding her face.

"Ask me again," she smiles, pulling his hands down so that she's holding them in hers.

"Elizabeth Webber. Will. You. Marry. Me?" he asks, each word deliberate.

She takes a deep breath and nods. "Yes…I will. I'll marry you, Jason."

They smile and reach out for each other, their mouths finding each other's again.

~*~

"We need to get married right away," Elizabeth says as she leans back against his chest.

He keeps playing with the fingers of her hand and it's driving her nuts, but in a good way..

"Why, are you pregnant?" he teases.

She gently nudges him with her elbow. "When's the last time we were together?" she asks, and he moans, trying not to think about it.

"No, I want to get married right away so that there is no time for anyone or anything to stop it," she says, studying her bare left ring finger.

"Like, how soon."

"Uh, let's call Father Coates and see when he can fit us in."

"Okay and what if he says tomorrow?" he asks, trying to hide his amusement.

"I'm sure I can find a white dress somewhere and you'll just wear a suit…"

"You're serious?" he asks.

She sits up and turns around so she can see his face.

"Yes. This can't pass us by again, Jason. No matter what. No matter who gets shot or something else bad happens…I want to be your wife. I want you to be a father to our son."

"I want that too," he says, stroking the side of her face.

"I don't care where we live, I just want us to be together as soon as possible."

"You'll be okay with the guards?" he asks.

"Yes."

"And with the guards around the boys? Because the daycare might not like a couple of big guys standing outside their door."

"So, we'll hire someone to watch them and I'll make sure they have play dates with their friends."

"That is if their friends' parents allow them to be around Jake and Cameron."

Her shoulders slump.

"You're not going to change my mind…"

"And the hospital…" he starts.

"What about the hospital?" she questions.

"You really think Epiphany is going to allow you to make rounds with a bodyguard following you into every room?"

"They can't just stay outside the door?"

"What if one of the patient's is someone hired by one of my enemies to hurt you? What good would it do to have the guard outside?"

He knew he was making her head spin with all the questions but he wanted her to be prepared for all of it, if they were truly going to go ahead with this.

"I…I hadn't thought of it that way."

"Would you be okay if you couldn't work at GH anymore?"

"As long as I had you," she says, as she studies her hands in her lap.

"Elizabeth," he says, nudging her chin up so she's looking at him.

"I'm not saying this is what's going to happen but it could. I just don't want you to regret being with me if it does…"

"I'll never regret being with you," she says.

She moves into him and kisses him. Slowly.

When their lips part, she gives him a serious and intense look.

At first, he's almost afraid that she has thought about everything he has said and she's deciding to think about it a little longer, weigh her pros and cons.

"What?' he asks.

"Call Father Coates," she smiles.


	12. Epilogue

**The Way It Should Be**

**Epilogue**

Summer 2010

Elizabeth picks the fussy baby up from her crib and cradles her against her shoulder.

"Shhhh, baby girl. It's okay," she whispers to her daughter.

She grabs a blanket and goes downstairs.

"I know, Daddy normally feeds you this time of the night, but he's not here right now," she says, glancing at the clock.

1:30 am

He had been gone since 10. She hated when he got called away for "work".

This was the toughest part of being married to him.

She goes into the kitchen and gets the bottle, makes sure it's at the right temperature before going into the living room.

She sits down and adjusts Abigail in her arms. Abby knows she's going to be fed so she starts to get restless and grabs for the bottle. Once settled, she stares up at Elizabeth with her big blue eyes. Eyes so much like Jake and Jason's.

The quiet noise of Abby drinking from her bottle, almost lulls Elizabeth asleep. She blinks a few times to keep her eyes open.

Trying to keep her mind occupied, she thinks back to the first time she waited on this couch for Jason to come home.

_Elizabeth pinches the bridge of her nose to help stay awake. She'd been waiting for Jason for hours and it was nearly 3:30 am now. _

_He told her not to worry._

_He told her not to wait up._

_He didn't know when he'd be back tonight._

_But she couldn't help it._

_It was the first time since they had been married that he left in the middle of the night on business._

_She knew better than to ask, but her stomach turned when he got the box out of the entry closet to get out his gun._

_The boys had been in bed for a couple of hours when he got the call._

_She rests her cheek against her hand and chews on her bottom lip._

"_He's okay, Elizabeth. You know he is. You'd feel it if something happened to him," she whispers._

_Finally, she lays her head against the throw pillows on the couch and nods off to sleep._

_When Jason arrived back at the Penthouse, he tried to be as quiet as possible. He didn't want to wake anyone upstairs, especially Elizabeth._

_He worried about her all night. He knew tonight would be difficult for her._

_He was actually surprised when the "job" went off without a hitch because he had been so distracted, worrying about his family._

_When he shut the closet door, Elizabeth sat up on the couch, startling him._

"_Oh. Hey," he says, walking over to her._

"_Hey," she says, groggily, wiping her eye. "What time is it?"_

"_Late….or early, depending on how you look at it," he says, gently nudging her over so he could sit next to her. She rests against his side as he wraps his arm around her. He kisses the top of her head._

"_Everything okay?" she asks._

"_Yeah. Come on, we should get to bed. The boys will be up in a couple of hours."_

_She moans and wraps her free arm around his stomach._

"_I don't feel like moving," she mumbles against his chest._

"_Come on," he says, putting his arms under her and lifting her up as he stands up._

_She laughs and holds on tight._

"_Okay, okay, I can walk. You don't have to carry me up the stairs."_

"_It's the least I can do," he smiles._

"Your Daddy came back that night and he'll come back tonight, too," Elizabeth says softly.

She removes the baby's hand that is grabbing her hair. She lets Abby wrap her small fingers around one of hers.

Elizabeth studies the features of her daughter. Her eyes are like Jason's but she can tell already that her nose and mouth are going to be like hers. Her hair is a light brown, with just a slight curl at the ends.

"You're such a beautiful little girl," Elizabeth whispers to her.

Abby keeps staring at her while drinking her bottle.

"You are," Elizabeth smiles and nods.

"Both of my girls are," Jason says from the doorway, startling Elizabeth.

"Oh God," she gasps, trying to slow her heart down. "I need to get my hearing check, I didn't hear you come in," she smiles at him as he walks over to the couch.

"It's my job to be quiet," he says, sitting next to her. He leans over and kisses her temple before kissing Abby's forehead.

Abby, keeping the bottle in her mouth, reaches out for Jason to hold her. He can't resist his little girl so he carefully takes her from Elizabeth.

"Time for your late night feeding, huh?" Jason asks, settling her in his arms.

Elizabeth pulls her feet up close to her body and leans against Jason's side, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"You know, she should have been out of this habit awhile ago…" Elizabeth teases.

Jason's eyes shift toward Elizabeth.

"What are you trying to say?"

"That you spoil her. The slightest noise coming from her room and you jump out of bed and feed her."

"I can't help it," he says before placing a kiss on the top of Abby's head. "And why did _you_ get her up tonight?"

"She was screaming," she says, rolling her eyes. "I didn't want her waking the boys."

"Screaming?" he asks in a worried tone. "She feel okay? Maybe she's sick…"

"Jason, she's fine. She just wanted her Daddy," she says before kissing his cheek.

He removes the bottle from Abby's mouth and starts to pat her back, trying to burp her.

"And Mommy?"

She smiles and rubs his back. "Mommy wants Daddy, too," she whispers in his ear.

"_Jason," Elizabeth gasps as she comes down from her peak._

_Jason rolls over, pulling Elizabeth with him. He kisses her temple._

"_We didn't get any sleep tonight," he says, wiping a sweaty strand of hair away from her forehead._

_She giggles into his shoulder. "It's okay. I don't have to work until the afternoon shift tomorrow. Once the boys are at daycare, I can take a nap," she says, running her hand across his bare chest._

"_A nap?" he asks, nudging her hip. "What time?"_

_She chuckles and throws her leg across his so she can get even closer to him. "I'm not telling you or I won't get the nap."_

"_Hmmm, no fair," he mumbles as he starts to drift off to sleep._

"_Jason?" Elizabeth whispers._

"_Hmm?"_

"_I love you so much," she says._

_The tone of her voice makes him open his eyes to look at her. "I love you, too."_

_He studies her face. _

"_You okay?"_

_She nods and tries to keep the unshed tears in her eyes from falling._

"_No, you're not. What's wrong?"_

"_I was just so scared tonight. I didn't want to be. I wanted to be the strong wife, but I couldn't help it," she sniffles._

"_I told you I'd come back," he says against her forehead._

"_Jason, you're not invincible. Anything could have happened to you and I tried to go to sleep, but I couldn't stop thinking about you…"_

_He rubs his hand up and down her bare back. "Hey hey, I'm here, I'm fine."_

"_I know…but still…."_

"_I have everything to live for, Elizabeth…"_

"I think she's asleep now," Elizabeth whispers.

"I wanted to make sure that when I move, she wouldn't wake," he says, studying his daughter's eyelashes.

"Uh huh," Elizabeth teases. "You're so cute with her."

"Cute?" he asks as he carefully stands up.

"Yes. Jason Morgan, big mob guy, is a mush when it comes to his little girl," she smiles as she follows Jason up the stairs.

He smiles and shakes his head, knowing full well that she's right.

"You know why I'm like that with her, right?" Jason asks when he joins Elizabeth in bed ten minutes later.

"Because she's your baby girl," she shrugs. "Daddy's are different with daughters than sons…"

"Well, it's that, but it's also because I'm experiencing this whole thing with her," he says, rubbing her leg after he sits down next to her. Both of them are sitting up against pillows leaning on the headboard. "From the moment we found out you were pregnant, to getting to stay up late to help feed her…."

She knows that wasn't meant to make her feel guilty, but she can't help it.

"You know that's not what I meant," he says, leaning his head so he can try to look her in the eye.

"I know," she says, glancing at him. "But you should have been able to be there for Jake…"

"I am now and for the rest of my life, that's what matters, right?" he asks, as they scoot down into bed.

"_Jake, give this to Daddy," Elizabeth says, handing Jake a small plate._

_Jake takes the plate in both hands and looks over at Jason._

"_Go on," Elizabeth urges as she removes more dishes from the dishwasher._

_She knew that Jake was still getting used to thinking of Jason as "daddy" so she made sure she called him that around the boys as much as possible. She didn't expect Cameron to call Jason Daddy, but she wanted him to feel comfortable around Jason. Enough to think of him as a father figure._

"_Thanks, Buddy," Jason says when Jake slowly walks over to him. He's rewarded with a big smile._

"_You're such a big helper," Elizabeth says._

_Jake babbles something and walks back over to Elizabeth, he holds his hands out for another plate._

"_Okay, one more," she says, handing him another small plate._

_He walks back over to Jason and holds the plate out to him._

"_Dahdah," he says._

_Elizabeth freezes in the middle of putting a glass away. She slowly turns around to face Jason and Jake. She tilts her head and smiles through watery eyes at Jason's reaction. He's biting his lower lip, trying to fight back tears himself._

"I was going to take Cameron to the park tomorrow, is that still okay?" Jason asks.

Elizabeth turns in bed so that's she's facing him.

"Yes. What are you guys going to do?"

He brushes her hair away from her shoulder and let's his hand rest there.

"I don't know. Maybe just play on the playground," he shrugs.

"You can do that here," she smiles at him, thinking about their huge backyard with every toy and piece of playground equipment you can think of.

"Yeah, but Jake would want to play. This is just me and Cam time."

"He's going to love that," she says.

"_Cameron, Mommy has to go to work, so you be good for Jason, okay?" Elizabeth asks before heading out to work one day._

"_Mommy?" he asks, stopping her before she reaches the door._

"_What baby?"_

"_Why do you have Jake call Jason, Daddy?" he asks softly._

_She sets her purse back down and squats down so she's eye level with him._

"_It's hard to explain," she sighs. "But Jason is Jake's Daddy."_

"_What about Daddy, though?"_

"_He's still your Daddy and he still loves Jake, but he's not Jake's real Daddy. One day you'll understand….but hey," she says, tugging on his sleeve, "Jason loves you like he is your real Daddy."_

_Cameron looks down at the floor. "Do I call him Daddy or Jason?"_

"_You can call him either one….or you can call him Dad if you'd rather call Daddy, Daddy," she says, looking up at Jason who just walked into the room._

_Jason stops behind Cameron so he doesn't interrupt._

"_Okay," Cameron says._

"_Do whatever you feel comfortable with. He just wants you to be happy and if you call him Jason for awhile, that would be fine," she smiles at him._

_Cameron nods._

"_You can call me anything you want," Jason teases. "Just don't call me….what's that word you use now?"_

_He sits down on the desk chair and leans over to look at Cameron._

"_Dork-o," Cameron giggles._

"_Yeah, dork-o, just don't call me that," he says, grabbing Cameron and tickling him._

"_Okay you two…now I am really running late and I have to go. You okay?" Elizabeth asks, standing up and looking down at the guys._

"_Yes," both Cameron and Jason respond._

"_Good," she smiles._

"I think we should take a vacation," Jason says, right before Elizabeth slips off to sleep.

"A vacation?" she yawns. "Sounds nice."

She stretches out and ends up draped over his body.

"Yeah, a family vacation."

"Just tell me when and where," she smiles against his shoulder.


End file.
